Clinging to my Guns and Religion

We spent last week at the hospital for the boys bone marrow biopsies. On the day of the biopsies, I wore my NRA Whittington Center shirt. Priceless, I know.

S took a bit longer to wake up from the anesthesia, so I had time to talk with the recovery nurses.  Two of them were conservative, or so it seemed.  I thought it was funny that one nurse told me I was the stereotypical person from the Bible Belt, clinging to my guns and religion. Why yes, yes I am. On the way to the car, he cautioned me that most people at the hospital are liberal and said I should be careful.

I'm not a closet conservative. Like I've said in my earlier posts, we need to be open about what we believe and let people know conservatives are normal, everyday people.  I'm fully aware that most hospital workers are liberals.  I don't care.  I have the right to wear my NRA shirt and talk about my values.  I can pray all I want at the hospital.  We prayed when there was difficulty getting a line in on J, we prayed on the way to the hospital.  We listened to a Catholic priest rap.  I don't check my values at the hospital door.

I had a conversation with various people.  I was surprised that there were people who felt I should turn the nurse in for saying what he did.  Who cares if he thinks I am the stereotypical Bible thumping, gun toting southerner?  Who cares if he actually said what he did?  I agree with him.  I am.  Yet, even if I didn't agree with his assessment, I wouldn't report him.  Have we really gotten to that point in this country?  No one can ever speak their mind? The first amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights don't guarantee that we will never be offended.  The Bill of Rights doesn't state that the only way people are free to speak is if they speak in agreement with you.  Free speech doesn't work that way. Though the politically correct Nazis would have you believe it DOES work that way.

I don't want people to be afraid to speak their minds around me. I don't want to live in a country where everyone must be politically correct, either. We have the God-given right to form our own opinions and we have a God-given right to speak about those opinions.  I actually think it is rather funny that the nurse pegged me so quickly.  I wear my conservatism on my sleeve, quite literally.